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Charles Packshaw joins us as the head of our Board of Trustees following a 30-year career in the City of London. He tells us why the appointment means so much to him personally and how he intends to break his PB at his next cycling fundraiser for us.

As a keen cyclist, it was the chance to do the 100-mile Saxon Classic cycle ride two years ago, along the beautiful Suffolk coastline near his home, that first introduced Charles Packshaw to Prostate Cancer UK.

"It was really great to see some of the Prostate Cancer UK team in action, not to mention chatting with people who had a really close connection to the cause along the way," says the father-of-three, who stepped down as a senior executive at HSBC last month to take up the role as our new chairman.

"Since then, a few people close to me have been diagnosed, so I became more interested in the work the charity was doing, and keen to help raise funds and awareness.

"I’ve now done the Wiggle Dragon Ride and RideLondon on two occasions, supporting Prostate Cancer UK. I’m keen to join up for this year’s RideLondon too, and am aiming for a time of under five hours – a few minutes under my personal best!"

I’ve seen first-hand how destructive prostate cancer can be and know how much distress it can cause

But while he's optimistic that his best cycling times are yet to come, Charles feels there's no better time to be joining the board of the UK's biggest men's health charity.

"I know we’re at a point now where there is real hope that we can beat prostate cancer in the not-too-distant future, and I am delighted to have been appointed chairman at the charity so I can join in this fight," he says.

"It’s really important to me that if you work for a charity, you feel a deep sense of empathy for the cause. I’ve seen first-hand how destructive prostate cancer can be: close friends and family members of mine have been diagnosed and treated in the last few years and I know how much distress it can cause."

As well as his background in banking, Charles has a huge range of experience working with a variety of successful organisations, including non-executive roles at BMT Group and Framlingham College. He's also a season-ticket holder at Fulham and says he feels a great sense of pride seeing our Man of Men logo on the back of the shirts every week.

"I want to see us succeed with our aim of taming prostate cancer in ten years, and I’m joining fully prepared to help in whatever way I can with that battle," he says. "I know that we’ve made a great start and with Angela at the helm, supported by the Trustees, the Leadership team and each and every one of you, we can expect some exciting times ahead."

Our strategy

We’ve got a plan. One we hope will stop men dying from prostate cancer within ten years.

Progress and promise in a fast-moving year since the launch of our life-saving strategy

It's been 12 months since we launched our ambitious plan to halve prostate cancer deaths in a decade, and we’ve already taken some huge steps towards our goal. Our chief executive, Angela Culhane, reflects on the progress we’ve made and the exciting work still to come.